The Beauty Contest Murder
by FonzFan82
Summary: At a pageant she was involved with, Daphne Blake tries to solve the murder of a victim that was part of the contest. Would Daphne be able to find out the name of the victim and who the murderer was?
1. Chapter 1

Rain was raining lightly as Daphne Blake drove away from the gas station. Her son, Sam and her daughter Michelle should be with the neighbors. Both son and daughter were a bit young to stay home alone. Sam was eleven and Michelle was seven. Daphne pulled into the two – car garage once the garage door opened automatically.

There was no need to drive the car to her neighbors' house since they were right next – door. After unbuckling the seatbelt, Daphne climbed out of the passenger's seat. She grabbed the keys out of the ignition before locking the car. She thought she'd leave the garage door open so she and the kids could walk through together.

Walking to her neighbors' house, which was a two – story house with a one – car garage, a gate, garden, kitchen, bathroom, living and dining room, you name it. To tell the truth, her neighbors weren't rich at all and neither was she. The house she walked to at this minute happened to be a house of a cop.

Daphne pushed her red hair away from her face. The hair was only shoulder length but it got wet because of the rain. While ringing the doorbell, Daphne felt her feet tapping on the 'welcome' mat. The deputy's wife came to answer the door. She was pretty for someone in her early fifties.

Daphne noticed the woman looked like she was in the middle of a bath because she saw the woman's red hair was wet and she had a royal blue towel over her waist. The woman looked like her hair was starting to turn gray.

"Hello, Daphne. Won't you come in?" she asked.

"Thank you, but maybe next time, Melanie. I came for Sam and Michelle."

Daphne watched as Melanie yelled to Michelle and Sam their mother was here. That's when she heard footsteps. The kids ran to greet Daphne.

Daphne said, "What do you say to Mrs. Brown?"

"Thank you," both said in unison.

"Thank you for what?" Daphne asked.

"Thank you for letting us stay," Michelle said.

"You're welcome."

Daphne and Melanie said a quick good – bye once Sam and Michelle walked out, backpacks in hand. Michelle's backpack had the Disney princess theme while Sam's was a sports theme. The three walked into the kitchen without a word. Sam and Michelle probably ate supper. She'd recently judged a beauty pageant here in Coolsville this afternoon.

The show she was at today was a big deal, but it was supposed to continue tomorrow. She'd enjoyed the outfits she hadn't liked. This was the kind of job title she had – beauty pageant judge. She'd often share pictures of the beautiful girls on facebook. She hadn't yet posted on facebook.

It was time Sam and Michelle get a start on their homework. All of his life, Sam had dreams of becoming a detective. He'd had fun watching crime shows on TV and read thrillers. He usually did figure out who the culprit was. He was now reading a new paperback of James Patterson's Alex Cross novel.

She then asked Michelle and Sam if they had done their homework yet.

"Yes, Mom. We did it while waiting for you," Sam told her.

"Oh."

She usually let Michelle and Sam eat supper at Melanie and Dennis's house if it got too late for her to come home to do the cooking.

While Sam and Michelle were under the covers that night, Daphne logged onto her facebook so she could share with the public the pictures she took while at these types of pageants. Daphne had been doing this kind of job for over nine years now and had loved this job since then.

She'd share five pictures from today's show. One picture was with a teenager who recently had a haircut, but it was nice since she had her hair layered. The teenaged girl had on light purple high heels, light tan socks, a pair of star earrings, a necklace, and a red polka dot dress.

Another picture she showed was a thirty – ish old college girl with two pairs of pierced ears along with a fur coat made of silk, curly blonde hair neatly washed and combed, a dress that looked to be more of a special occasion only type of dress. It was black and had a sapphire on one side and the other side had a pearl. The outfit looked a bit pricey but she thought it was lovely.

After finishing up on posting the fifth picture, she heard on the radio there had been a murder.

"We now interrupt this program. Sheriff Edwards had just stated there was a shooting in Coolvsille an hour or two ago. The body was part of a beauty contestant when there was a bullet shooting from the other side of the door.

"She happened to be in her thirties. Today she was wearing a two – pair sets of earrings, fur coat made of silk, curly blonde hair neatly washed and combed, a dress that looked to be more of a special occasion only type of dress. It was black and had a sapphire on one side and the other had a pearl and the outfit was a bit pricey. The name of the victim has not been released."

Daphne turned the radio off. She looked at the picture. Sheriff Edwards had just described. It was contestant number five. That's when she let out a scream!


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Daphne showed up to see if the contest was still going to be in progress while she judged the show this afternoon. The acting sheriff, her next – door neighbor, Deputy Mitchell was on the scene once she arrived.

"Good morning, Daphne," he greeted her.

"Good morning," she returned.

"I heard what happened about last night," she told Mitchell.

Sheriff Edwards had been out-of-town for a few days to go on a jury duty here in Las Vegas.

"The news is all over town, Lynda. Even made this morning's headlines," he told her as he shoved it quickly in her hands.

She saw the front page. So Mitchell was right and he wasn't joking, either. The headline read: CONTESTANT DEAD.' She always had hated this kind of thing when victims like the contestant who had entered this contest murdered.

One of the contestants in this year's pageant, was shot the previous night. She had recently entered this contest that was going to continue in the next few days. Daphne Blake, one of the judges, had been a judge to all the past years until today had been involved in the past murders that took place. The bullet that was aimed at the contestant was small. The police have no new information at this time. For now, the contestant's name is to remain unidentified.

The writer who wrote this short piece of what happened last night used the name Jessica Anderson. Jessica was well – known. Daphne wanted to help solve this mystery. Sam and Michelle had school today, so there was no reason to have them around this kind of violence. Not today, anyway.

She decided to ask Mitchell if today was still on.

"Is today's show still going to continue?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not, Daphne. It will have to wait until this is solved," he said, pushing his long bangs out of his face.

His hair was a light – red color. The sign of him needing a haircut was bangs in your face.

"Do we know anything about the person who shot her?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing yet. It's a bit too early to figure this one out. When we have an answer, we'll let you know."

"Thanks. I'll stay tuned."

After that, she drove away. She got back in today's cold weather when she parked her car in front of a bakery. The bakery, Jones and Brown, was small. Costumers would come in and stay if they pleased.

The bakery had a drive – thru. It was nothing fancy. Daphne had never been through it herself. She waited in line for her turn. She was hungry for a donut and wanted coffee to go along with it. Her turn had arrived. Lucas Jones was behind the counter this morning.

"Good morning, Daphne. What can I give you today?" he asked in a professional tone of voice.

Lucas had the bakery's work clothes. The shirt said 'Jones and Brown Bakery' with a matching apron both were the usual boring white. He wasn't tall for his age, she could tell.

"We heard what happened about last night, Daphne. This pageant started a couple of days ago, didn't it?" he asked, pulling a glazed donut with sprinkles.

He handed her the donut and then headed to pour the coffee.

"I heard about it on the radio myself last night, Lucas. I tried to get more info earlier, but no avail."

"We're curious as much as you are, Daphne. Good luck to you on this case," he told her as she paid $3.75.

"Thanks, Lucas. I'll need it."

"Good day, Daphne," he called as he watched her leave.


	3. Chapter 3

While eating dinner that night with Sam and Michelle, Daphne put the finishing touches of the rest of that night's meal.

"Mom, the entire school has been talking about what happened last night," Sam said.

"Everyone must have heard about it, Sam. They've talked about it when I went into town," Daphne told her son and daughter.

Tonight Daphne did not have to judge like she thought because of the crime scene.

"How come you didn't work today?" Michelle asked.

"The sheriff said to postpone until the crime is solved."

"I can help, Mom. I want to help," Sam offered.

"I don't think that's necessary, Sam."

"You remember how many times I've helped you," Sam pointed out.

Daphne could see there was disappointment in his voice. She didn't blame him.

"Sam, this could be dangerous for you, so this is why the answer is no."

"Drats."

"I know how you feel, Sam, but the sheriff doesn't want you to get hurt."

"I know, Mom."

The next day arrived quickly. Daphne was now asking questions what happened to the contestant. She knew it made sense to help with the police since it would go quickly.

Daphne was talking with a curly redhead. She was wearing clothes to keep you warm during the winter. She had blue socks, black shoes, blue eyes, and a yellow T – shirt. The background looked to be it was a sunset. Daphne thought it was beautiful.

"I like your shirt. I think it's beautiful."

"Thanks, Ms. Blake. I just bought it so it's new. This is my first time wearing it."

"I like it on you. It really fits you," Daphne told her.

"Glad you like it. What do you want me to help with?"

"I heard what happened about one of the contestants last night. It frightened me," Daphne said.

"It frightened everyone, Ms. Blake. The contestant's family is in a state of shock after hearing about it on the news. Like the rest of us, they want to find out who killed her."

"I can help."

"I know. You've been solving crimes for several years."

This woman she'd been talking with looked like she was not married. Daphne guessed she was either divorced or engaged. Still Daphne couldn't tell what the age was. That was one of the things she didn't know what to think.

"Do we know how many family members the contestant's family is?" Daphne queried.

"I'm not sure. I think she said she was the oldest of five or six. She was close to one of her brothers."

"I know what this is like. Where do they live?" Daphne asked.

"She told me she was from Virginia but her family lives out in Florida."

"Are her parents still living?"

"They're retired. They're around sixty or seventy. Her father retired early. He used to be in the retail business."

Daphne found that interesting to hear about a victim's family member in the past she'd had solved a mystery.

"Are there anymore questions you'd like to ask me?" she asked Daphne.

"Yes. May I have a telephone number to contact her parents?"

"I'm afraid I don't know how to answer that, Ms. Blake. I haven't known her very well so we've been friends about five months or so."

"Thanks. If I have anymore questions, look me up in the book," Daphne said.

"Will do," Daphne said as she watched the woman walk away.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day at school, Sam and his friends talked about the murder his mother had been involved with.

"Sam, isn't your mom going to stop being involved with all these crimes? It's a bit violent for us, you know," one of Sam's friends, Todd said.

"True, Todd, but you know how I get."

Todd nodded. Of course Sam enjoyed playing detective on his mother's cases.

"Of course, Sam. I guess that'll never stop you from having a private detective career in the future."

"No, it doesn't. I hope to be one someday. And then I can help Mom out."

"Right now, We're just kids. We're a bit young to play this type of game."

"Not me."

Todd didn't reply. He knew for sure Sam wouldn't listen to him and his mother. He knew Sam's dream was to have a career that involved murder. Todd didn't seem to want a career like that since it was dangerous, even for a police officer. He'd heard from Sam's other friends that Sam watched too many crime dramas and read too many stories. He did think that seemed to be true since Sam wanted a police career so it was no surprise. He just hoped if Sam ever did get involved in this latest crime, he wouldn't get hurt. Of course friends care about one another like him and Sam.


	5. Chapter 5

Daphne drove to the police station early that morning. She was told the sheriff wanted to see her. She decided to go to the station around ten – fifteen. The sheriff wanted her as long as it was in the morning. He wanted to question her. Of course, Daphne had done nothing wrong to make him think it was her who murdered the contestant. She scratched the idea out of her head and decided to wait and see what he had in mind.

She drove her light green Chevy to the station. She turned the XM radio station to hip hop. She liked hip hop, jazz, R & B music the best. She'd heard some rock and roll and country but it never suited her enough to enjoy the music the artists had recorded.

When she arrived at the police station, the parking lot wasn't even full. That surprised her. Whenever the sheriff wanted to question her when a murder appeared, she would notice the station's parking lot was usually half – full.

She parked the Chevy in the parking lot on the right side of next to a white SUV. She never really paid much attention to cars and their license plates, but this one sure looked like it was ready to go to the dump, she thought silently to herself.

Once she walked into the large police station, she saw the receptionist, whose name was Julie, answering a phone call. Julie waved a friendly wave to Lynda. Lynda didn't need any directions to the sheriff's office but knew her way around the police department really well. She'd been here over a thousand times enough to know her way around. She saw one of the deputies as she passed by. Deputy Brown waved to her as she walked past him. He had a mouth full of donut. She did notice he was eating so she could tell he was having his mid – morning snack. It was true police officers liked to eat donuts even if it was a lot of sugar.

Daphne didn't seem to care much for donuts but the children seemed to like them but it wasn't often she bought them for Sam and Michelle. As she neared the sheriff's office, she peeked in Sheriff Edwards' office to see if there was anyone there with him. Turned out it was quiet and nobody was there. He waved her in as he played around with the telephone cord. He'd been in a conversation, so Daphne walked in and sat in one of the chairs that were across from him. He put a finger on his lips, telling her to wait for a while longer. It looked like he was talking to someone on business, Daphne guessed.

Sheriff Edwards had been a friendly type of person that almost everyone liked except when he was in the mood when he arrested people. That was the only time people didn't like him much. He'd been in the department for over fifteen years and had done a good job since joining the force. In the beginning, he was not sheriff. He was an officer going around town writing up tickets for the drivers and citizens. He'd been sheriff for less than seven years. In his seven years on the force, Daphne could tell he had been doing a good job in keeping the town safe during the murder cases going on.

He finally put the phone back in the cradle.

"What do you want to see me for?" Daphne asked.

"About the other night when one of your contestants died."

"Have you figured her name out?" Daphne asked with curiosity.

"The name hasn't been released yet, but we've looked in some background of this young woman," he told her.

"What do we know about her so far?" Daphne asked.

"We know she comes from a small family. It's her and two younger siblings – both girls. I called them before you came in to let the victim's family know about what happened to her. Of course they found it shocking. One of the sisters told me the victim was having a birthday to celebrate within a week or two after the pageant," he remarked.

Daphne didn't say anything, so she kept quiet.

"Are her parents still alive?" Daphne asked.

"Only her father. Mother died three years back of heart failure and cancer."

"Isn't that a shame," Daphne said, feeling sorry for the victim's family.

"Of course it's a shame. We want to look for the murderer who did this sort of thing."

"I don't blame you for not wanting to put anymore people in prison, but it's your job," Daphne told him.

"That's exactly right. Tell your son to stay away from this murder. I don't want him to get into any danger."

"I understand. I'll be sure to tell him tonight at supper. We're going out to eat."

"All right."

She asked if there was anything else she needed to know.

"Not at this time. I've told you everything so far. When we have more information, I'll call you."

"Please do."

She finally got up from the black leather chair, brushing off dust from her pants.

"I guess you'll be leaving now so you could have more quality time to yourself," he told her as he got up from the swivel chair to walk her out of the office.

Daphne thanked him. His office was big enough to hold about five people so his office was medium – sized. His office looked like it hadn't changed since he first became sheriff. She thought quietly to herself as he walked her out of the door the office needed some work but didn't bother mentioning it to him quite yet.

"Do you want me to walk you to your car?" Sheriff Edwards offered.

"Thank you, but I can handle it on my own this time," she said as he watched her out of his office.

"Anytime, Daphne," Sheriff Edwards called after her.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that evening, Daphne was doing finishing touches on dessert. She'd made her and the kids cherry pie from Marie Calendar. After doing the finishing touches, she put the pie on the stove. She hit 'Start' on the stove and put the pie in and slammed the door.

While the pie was doing its job, Daphne went up the stairs to check on Michelle and Sam, who both were studying. Daphne had told them they had to do their own schoolwork without any help unless they needed it. She walked up the creaking stairway. There was a bathroom on the left near her own bedroom, but that bathroom was for Sam and Michelle.

The bathroom looked like any other: glass mirror, a shower, toilet, sink, you name it. She peeked in the bathroom, knowing it was time it needed some scrubbing. Scrubbing the bathroom was Michelle's chore but every week, she would make a chore list for Michelle and Sam. Speaking of chores, it reminded her she should start making up this week's chores. Oh, well. It could wait till tomorrow.

She passed a small guest room that was only two doors on the left from the master bedroom. It was only her, Michelle and Sam living together. Their father walked out on them shortly after Michelle was born, but since then, his name was never mentioned again. The walls on the second floor held a few paintings.

One painting, which had the theme of a desert, looked like it was ready to be pitched. She'd worry about it another time. The walls were on the second floor looked like the paint started to fade and the walls also had a few cracks. Sam's room was right next to the guest room. She saw that his light was still on. It should be bedtime for them in another hour.

She knocked on his door. There was silence. Sam's bedroom looked like a sports/detective type of theme. It was interesting to see a mix of both, she knew. She heard the door creak, telling her he was answering her knock. He opened the door halfway to let her in.

"Hi, Mom."

"I just dropped in to see how far you've gotten in your homework."

"Okay, I guess. I should be done in about five minutes or so."

"All right. What did you have for tonight's work?"

Since Sam was only eleven, he somehow skipped fifth grade. He is the youngest in the entire sixth grade. Sam's sports/crime bedroom looked like it needed to be picked up. She knew for sure kids like to have filthy bedrooms.

That's when the two of them heard the sound of springs coming from a bed. The sound was nowhere in his bedroom. Even Sam's closet door held the theme of a detective. He always had Sherlock Holmes as his favorite crime fictional character. No wonder he always wanted to work on her murders.

"Sam, honey, we need to have a talk," Daphne told him as the springs continued to sound.

"About what, Mom?"

"The murder."

"Did I do anything wrong?"

"No, you didn't, Sam. I was at the police station earlier and the sheriff wanted me to let you know you can't help out on this case. He thinks it's too dangerous."

"Why would it be dangerous, Mom?"

"I know you've helped in the past murders, but the sheriff recommended you to stay out-of-the-way. He somehow thinks his staff would work a lot faster if you didn't help this time."

"Drat," he said.

The bed springs kept getting louder. Michelle loved to think of her bed as a trampoline and jumped on the bed once a week.

"I'm going to tell your sister to get back to her studies. I have pie in the stove, so it should be finished by the time you finish tonight's homework."

"All right, Mom. What are we having? I thought you wanted to talk with me."

"We did, but now the talk is over with."

"Okay," Sam replied, watching as she shut the door behind herself.

Sam thought to himself, _'I don't care what Mom and the police say. I'm going to help solve this case when they like it or not, where to begin?' _That's when he was scratching his chin. He heard Lynda knock on Michelle's door. The bed springs continued with their racket.

He could tell Michelle didn't bother letting Daphne in since she was still on the bed. He could hear through the walls. He heard Daphne tell Michelle a bed is not a trampoline. Like the saying goes, 'Walls have ears.' He heard Daphne's voice asking if her schoolwork was finished.

"Yes, Mom," was her answer as she continued jumping on the bed.

"We're having pie for dessert tonight."

"Yummy!" Michelle exclaimed.

Pie was always her favorite dessert. He shook his head, thinking to himself, _'Sisters. They can be a pain sometimes.' _That's when he heard Daphne close his sister's door. He didn't seem to care her room theme was something to do with princesses. He had somehow always thought sports was more exciting.

He heard the stove going off by making a beeping sound. _'Pie time,' _he thought to himself as he stopped scratching his chin. He decided to finish the last bit of his math homework. And then head on down. Tonight's math assignment was on adding fractions. He'd never really was much of a fan of fractions.

Michelle continued to jump as he started to finish the last four problems. After taking the cherry pie out, the door creaked. Lynda decided to let the cherry pie cool off for a while. While letting it cool off, she went to the fridge to grab some ice cream. That's when she called Michelle and Sam. He heard Michelle finally jump off the bed.

He made it to the kitchen a couple of seconds after Michelle entered.

"Yummy! Cherry pie!" Michelle screamed with excitement.

For some reason tonight, Michelle had a lot of energy. It took the three of them to eat the pie, but there was still some left over for tomorrow night. After finishing tonight's pie, it was now time for him and Michelle to get to hop to bed. They both said good – night to her and once more went up the creaky staircase. Daphne put the dishes in the dishwasher. After slamming the dishwasher, she went to go online.

She wanted to share more of the crime on facebook. After logging in to the site, she never cared for staying up – to – date on the people she had on her friend list. She never somehow had the time for it. She put up the newest status: 'Police have found out a bit of the victim. They had talked with the victim's family. The victim's name is not yet released.' Then she quickly clicked 'Post.' She now logged off. She couldn't believe how fast time had flown by this evening. She suddenly started to get weary, so the machine was shut off. She even turned the lights off and went to change into tonight's nightgown.


End file.
